Former India cricketer Krishnamachari Srikkanth has criticised head coach Gautam Gambhir for dropping Vaibhav Sooryavanshi from the fifth T20I against England.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who made his senior India debut in the second T20I against England earlier in July, registered scores of 14, 13 and 15 from three T20Is against England.
The 15-year-old then played in the first T20I against Zimbabwe in Harare on Thursday, wherein VVS Laxman is the stand-in head coach. The teenager slammed his first senior international half-century, hitting 50 runs from 19 deliveries.
"He (Sooryavanshi) has an effortless range of shots, yet, not one shot was cross-batted. This boy is really something special. How did Gautam Gambhir foolishly drop him, of all people, after three failures to crush his confidence?," the former selection committee chairman said on his YouTube channel.
"I salute Vaibhav for his dedication. After the England series, he didn't go home and instead went straight to the Rajasthan Royals camp. He has been working on his batting against the short ball because he wants to prove to the whole world that he is special," he added.
Srikkanth impressed with Vaibhav's bold approach
Srikkanth was impressed with the Bihar youngster's bold approach despite three consecutive failures in the T20I series against England.
"The ease at which he scores at a 250 strike rate is extraordinary. Normally, after three failures, other players would have tried to safeguard their place in the Indian team by taking singles and twos.
"But he played fearlessly without worrying about the consequences. Scoring a 50 off 18 balls has become child's play for him. That's his greatness," the 66-year-old explained.
Vaibhav has been a revelation in the shortest format ever since he made his IPL debut with Rajasthan Royals (RR) in 2025, when he scored 252 runs from seven matches. He then became a regular player for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2026, and went onto win the Orange Cap with 776 runs from 17 matches.
Apart from his exploits in the IPL, Vaibhav also impressed in India’s triumphant Under-19 World Cup campaign earlier this year. He slammed 439 runs from seven matches at an average of 62.91, and this included a knock of 175 runs from just 80 balls in the final against England.
Having silenced critics with his explosive knock in Harare, Vaibhav will now look to continue his rich vein of form when India face Zimbabwe in the second T20I on Saturday. The three-match series concludes with the final game at the same venue on Sunday, giving the teenage opener another opportunity to strengthen his growing reputation on the international stage.
